Tree Warden Issues Amended Ruling On GHS Trees

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich High School community can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears now the Cardinal Stadium project will continue as planned following an amended ruling from the Greenwich Tree Warden on Monday.

The new ruling allows two trees to be removed so that a proposed access road can be widened. Board of Education member, Joe Kelly, who has spearheaded the Cardinal Stadium project, also said Monday that the plan for a proposed rain garden was re-designed so trees, which were deemed off-limits by Town Tree Warden Dr. Gregory Kramer, can be preserved.

The project was in jeopardy of being hung up following the initial ruling last week by Kramer. The Board of Education had requested the removal of 34 trees - later changed to 21 - so that a rain garden for drainage, ADA parking area, and access road from East Putnam Avenue to Cardinal Stadium could be built. But following a public hearing, Kramer said that a handful of trees in the area of the proposed rain garden had to remain, and he also ruled that two trees in the vicinity of the access road could not be cut down.

Those in support of the Cardinal Stadium improvement project said that the trees in the rain garden area had to be removed in order to accommodate the construction that dealt with challenging topography and underground rock formations, and that the trees by the access road also had to be cut to widen the road to comply with emergency fire and police safety code. Those against it, such as members from the Tree Conservancy, urged Kramer to preserve as many trees as possible.

After the ruling last week, Board of Education member Joe Kelly said that completion of the project would be "heavily delayed" if the trees did not come down, and that an appeal of the ruling could be filed. The First Selectman's Advisory Committee For People With Disabilities claimed that federal ADA regulations trumped the state authority granted to the Tree Warden, and they entertained a legal route through the federal government to overrule Kramer.

But all of that was avoided with Kramer's amended ruling on Monday that allows the removal of two trees in the way of the proposed access road. Additionally, through conversations in recent days with Planning & Zoning, the Board of Education was able to come up with a re-design of the rain garden that preserves those trees and leaves enough space for ADA parking, according to Kelly.

"Upon further discussions with Mr. Russell Davidson, President of Kaeyer, Garment and Davidson Architects and the information pertaining to public safety presented to the Tree Warden, the previous ruling to save the two London Plane [trees] will now be granted permission for removal," Kramer said in his ruling, noting that the decision was based upon international fire code.

"Working with Planning & Zoning, we were able to figure out a way to redesign the rain garden to be able to preserve those trees and still be able to have no problem with the handicap parking," Kelly said on Monday. "Everything is good to go. Planning & Zoning said they will speed up any processes that are necessary for us to get approvals to reorganize the rain garden in order to have adequate ADA parking to open up the stadium."

Kelly expressed relief that an appeal did not have to be made and that the legal route was avoided. An appeal through the courts could have taken up to a year to complete, leaving Cardinal Stadium unused for an extended period of time. He specifically thanked First Selectman Fred Camillo for stepping in and speaking with Kramer last Friday to help come up with a solution.

"The knot is out of my stomach I've had a knot in my stomach because it would have been so tough to have to tell the kids in the fall season that they're unable to use the stadium," said Kelly, a former rugby coach at GHS. "It looks like now we'll be on target to get ourselves ready for the fall season. I feel much relief and I'm happy and pleased we were able to work something out."